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Gospel JN 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray for peace within our Church, in every faithful heart, in every effort to heal and reconcile in the name of Christ Jesus. May this Easter season transform us into a Church of love as we face the many issues of COVID-19.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for peace within our families and in all of our relationships. We pray for people divided by hurt and despair. We pray for new life for those we love. We pray for those waiting to receive the Easter sacraments.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for peace among young couples seeking marriage, among our graduates deciding on their future, among all who seek new life in Easter in these uncertain days.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for peace among those who are unsettled in their lives. May we all seek the solace and comfort of Christ Jesus in every difficult choice and decision, especially when we feel orphaned or abandoned by God.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for peace among those who lead us in our nation in every form of government in this era of loss, uncertainty and illness. May hope and compassion be the rock on which our nation’s future will be built.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for peace for our loved ones who are ill and those who face depression and addiction in these days of isolation. May Christ heal and sustain our family members. We pray for our dead.
We pray to the Lord.
Broken But Not Divided 
Dear Fr. Ron,
Great homily, these are the words of hope that we need to hear! I remember when my mom passed away, it was Fr. Mark Illig who said, “Dan, you’ll see that events like this bring out the very best, and the very worst in people” and how right he was, and this crisis is no different. I pray that this time of crisis brings us a renewed desire for God, to love Him and center on Him. When you asked about past generations sharing stories about the 1918 flu and two world wars, most of the stories I heard growing up were about the Great Depression. My parents shared a few stories, but it was as though they wanted to just not dwell on it too much, but the important thing is, as you point out, what they learned from the experience was that life is precious, and to be thankful for everything we had. We were not rich, but my life growing up was very stable and loving, and continues to be so I think because of the faith and example of my parents. I think our job it to model for our family and friends the spirit of compassion, generosity and love that is Christ Jesus. Thanks, Fr. Ron, for always revealing Jesus in our midst. 🙂
I remember the end of World War Two. I have been sharing with my family what we went thru. The one thing I remember from the War was ration stamps. I remember we had rations on shoes, sugar and tires. We used honey to replace sugar. I remember we had to take care of our shoes as they were limited to one or two pair per year. Most people had very little but we were happy.
Faith is what keeps us going in our sorrows and joys. May we all become people of faith to help us today and all days.